1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a management system of image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, and of peripheral devices which are used with image forming apparatuses, such as automatic document feeders, sorters, paper feeding disk devices, staplers, punching devices, binding devices, and heaters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The maintenance work for a copying machine and its peripheral devices is generally performed when the number of copies made by the copying machine reaches a predetermined number. Conventionally, information about the number of copies made by a copying machine has been obtained by the visit of a service man to a customer or contact from the customer. Specifically, the scheduled date of the maintenance work of the copying machine has been determined on the basis of information which can be known when the service man visits the customer or upon the request for maintenance from the customer. Accordingly, it is difficult to predetermine the scheduled date of maintenance work, so that the efficiency of the maintenance work is not high.